The Emirates NBA Cup will open Friday, Oct. 30 with a Prime Video doubleheader: the New York Knicks visit the Philadelphia 76ers at 7:30 p.m. ET, followed by the Los Angeles Lakers at the Golden State Warriors at 10 p.m. ET. It is the first Cup Night of a Group Play run that will put all 30 teams on tournament-specific floors.
NBA Cup schedule moves from group stage to Indianapolis
- Group Play begins Oct. 30, with teams playing four designated Cup games through Friday, Nov. 27.
- Each conference’s teams have been assigned by random draw into groups of five, using 2025-26 regular-season records as the basis for the draw.
- Eight clubs will move on to the Knockout Rounds.
- The Quarterfinals and Semifinals will be staged in NBA team markets, with every knockout game available exclusively on Prime Video.
- The tournament ends Dec. 11, when the remaining two teams meet in a single-game championship at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Hinkle Fieldhouse, on Butler University’s campus, will host the winner-take-all final. The Cup format again gives the league an early-season stretch of games with advancement on the line, beginning with the Knicks-76ers and Lakers-Warriors matchups.
New courts carry the tournament look
Every Emirates NBA Cup game in Group Play, the Quarterfinals and Semifinals will use a custom fully painted court. The league’s 2026 floor package takes its visual direction from Nike Basketball’s Standard Issue Collection, titled “End of Ordinary.”
The host club’s primary logo will sit at midcourt, while oversized team wordmarks will be placed in mirrored positions on both sides of the floor. Those wordmarks draw from the collection’s game-jacket design.
- Each court will use a color treatment designed to stand apart from the home team’s Statement Edition uniform, which will be worn in Cup games.
- The Emirates NBA Cup trophy will appear at center court and inside the paint.
- A new line near the corner three-point area reads: “30 Teams. 8 Advance. 1 Champion.”
The special courts will be used by the Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Indiana Pacers, LA Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs, Toronto Raptors, Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards.
